The Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association, Inc. (NEWMOA) is inviting interested parties to submit comments on the Draft PFAS Prevention Model Act, for advancing reduction of the use of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. The public comment period for the Draft Model Legislation is open until June 29, 2023 midnight Eastern time.  

The goals of this draft Model Legislation are to:

• Reduce/eliminate the use of PFAS in consumer products to the extent feasible.
• Identify and implement source reduction programs.
• Ensure that the substitutes for PFAS in products are safer and that there are no regrettable substitutes.
• Coordinate product disclosure, labeling, bans, phase-outs, source reduction, and end-of-life collection on a multi-state basis.
• Help consumers identify products containing PFAS and learn how to properly handle them.
• Provide regulated entities with regulatory certainty.

These goals relate directly to recommendations in the PFAS Interagency Task Force report released by the MA legislature in April 2022. 

NEWMOA will be hosting a webinar on May 10, 2023 from 2-3:00pm Eastern to provide an overview of the Draft Model Legislation. Click here to register.

The LSPA will be reviewing NEWMOA’s draft model legislation. Please send your comments to Wendy Rundle, Executive Director, at [email protected].

In drafting the Model, a NEWMOA Workgroup reviewed the latest information on PFAS, including exposure pathways to the environment and PFAS’ impacts on public health and the environment. The Workgroup reviewed both existing laws and current legislative proposals to address PFAS in consumer products. The Workgroup also reviewed states’ successful experiences with toxics in packaging legislation passed starting in the early 1990s, mercury in production legislation passed starting in the early 2000s, and other bills related to high priority chemicals of concern passed throughout the 2000s.